Chinese phone maker Gionee seeks nod for single-brand stores in India

It plans to increase the number of franchisee outlets to 100 by March and 250 by December, Gionee India CEO Arvind Vohra said.Rasul Bailay | ET Bureau | January 25, 2016, 09:46 IST

Chinese phone maker Gionee is planning to apply for a single-brand retail licence, following the easing of rules. “It is in process,” said Arvind Vohra, Gionee India CEO, adding that the application will be filed with the Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy (DIPP) in the coming weeks. Apple has applied for a similar licence, ET reported last week.

In November, India scrapped a 30% local sourcing condition for overseas companies seeking to invest more than 51% equity in the single-brand retail segment. It also allowed single-brand licence holders to sell products through their own online platforms.

The Chinese company’s products are sold through multibrand stores and 30 Gionee-branded franchises.

It plans to increase the number of franchisee outlets to 100 by March and 250 by December, Vohra said. The Shenzen-based mobile phone maker will also open 200 exclusive service centres in India.

Even though the company plans to sell its products through its own ecommerce platform, Vohra said a brick-andmortar presence was needed for building the brand in India. “Fundamentally, I believe that first we have to create our brand by focusing on offline rather than online,” Vohra said. ” “Online is purely on (discounted) prices with no marketing, branding and loyalty.”

Vohra said India was a key market along with the home Chinese market and Africa. Vohra said the company may open some flagship stores and is targeting the top 100 malls in India to open franchisee stores.